Shoe form



Feb. 15, 1938.

w. J. DE WITT 2,108,657

SHOE FORM Fil'gd Sept. 5, 1935 Patented Feb. 15, 1938- PATENT oFFmE 7 2,108,657 H sHoE FORM William]; De Witt, Auburn, N. Y., assignor to Shoe Form 60., Inc., Auburn, N. Y., a corporation of New York I Application s ste fier'a'isss, Serial No. 39,281

Claims.'-'(Cl.12 128.1)

This invention relates .toan improvement in shoe forms and more particularly tQ ShOe forms having a toe member which enters and plumps out the walls of a shoe toe and a back part mem- 5 ber which engages the heel counter and removably holdsthe toe member in. position.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a shoe form of the above described type wherein the cone of the toe member is yieldably elevated and the side walls thereof; contracted.

A further object of thisinvention is to provide ashoe form having aback partv member covered by a shoe lace or other tubular fabric. These and other objects will appear from a consideration of the following description of s the invention and of the drawing which forms a-part thereof and in which Fig. l is a side elevation with parts broken away of a shoe in which is, inserted a shoe form embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of, such shoe form with parts broken away; V L j Fig. 3 is a side elevation similar to'Fig.'2 of another embodiment of the invention; p

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of therear part of a shoe with parts broken away in which is inserted another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the rear part of the embodiment shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating still another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a fragment of a back part member.

The various embodiments of this invention each comprise a hollow walled toe member l0 and a back part member H. The toe member I 63 includes ball flanges it connected by cross braces which are not here shown but may be of any well known type. The toe member ill is inserted into the toe of a shoe l5 and the back part member ll bears against the heel counter 16. The rear part ll of the toe member, which may be conveniently designated as the cone in view of the use of that term to designate the corresponding part of a shoe last, serves to support the strap [8 of the shoe illustrated, The back part member H, connected at its forward end to the cone above the flanges I2, preferably, though not necessarily, rests upon the inner sole of the shoe and is not visible when the shoe is looked at from the side.

The toe member 50 possesses inherent resiliency and is here shown as made of celluloid but might, if desired, be of fibre or other material which is resilient and yieldable. The back part member H also possesses resiliency and is here shown as comprising a Wire 20 encased in a tube Zlfofcelluloid overwhich a fabric sheath 22, for example a shoe lace, may be slipped, the sheath 22 being preferably cemented or otherwise ad- 5 hesively secured to the tube 2!. The fabric sheath may be of any desired color to harmonize with the shoes being displayed thereon.

The back part member ll of the embodiments shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is secured at the for- 10 ward end of the toe member at the top center of the cone I'I, extends forwardly, downwardly and rearwardly and terminates in a loop 25 which, when the form is inserted in a shoe, rests against the heel. counter I6 thereof. The intermediate 15 portion 26 of the back part member, when the form is fully inserted in a shoe, rests upon the inner sole of the shoe slightly inadvance of the rear edge of the toe member.

These two embodiments differ only in the means by which. the forward end is secured to the "toe member. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the back part member is secured by any suitablecement or adhesive while in the embodiment shown-in Fig, 3 the securement is 25 by a rivet 21 passed through a loop in the wire 20.

;; As the form is inserted in the shoe the back part member I l, performs two operations, first, it advances thetoe member into the toe of the shoe and, second, due to the bearing of the in- 30 termediate portion 25 upon the inner sole of the shoe, it elevates the cone ll of the toe memher. The inherent resiliency of the back part member causes the pressure exerted by both these operations to be yieldably applied so that no 35 undue pressure or strain is placed upon the material forming the shoe upper. The side walls of the cone are, by the elevation thereof, contracted to give the formed shoe the appearance of narrowness which has been found particu- 4O larly pleasing and desirable.

The back part member ll of the embodiments shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is substantially double the length of the corresponding member of the embodiments previously described and is bent 5 midway between its ends. Both ends of the wire 20 are exposed at the forward'ends of the member II and secured to the side walls of the cone I! by studs or rivets 30. The bend 3!, which forms the rearward end of the back part 50 member, bears against the heel counter l6 and the intermediate portion 32 rests upon the inner sole of the shoe just in advance of the shoe heel.

The member ll passes downwardly, outwardly and forwardly from the studs or rivets 30 to bends 55 33 (Figs. 4 and or coil loops 34 (Fig. 6) from which it continues to the bend 3| being arcuate in elevation as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. These two embodiments differ only in that the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 has the bends 33 While the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 has the loops 34. The member creates upwardly and inwardly exerted yieldable pressure upon the walls of the cone whereby the tip of the cone is raised and the side walls contracted in substantially the same way as described in connection with the cones of the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

From, the above description it will be apparent that, when a form embodying this invention is inserted in a shoe the back part member acts, first, to advance the toe member and, second, to elevate the tip of the cone thereof, said actions being the result of yieldably exerted pressures and the second being accompanied by a contraction of the side walls of the cone. This is in contradistinction to the forms of this type previously made where the back part member acts either solely to advance the toe member into the toe of the shoe or inaddition to depress the cone thereof.

While certain embodiments of this invention have been shown and described it will be understood that I am not limited thereto and that other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe form comp-rising a hollow walled toe member and a back part member, the rearward end of the back part member being adapted to engage the heel counter of a shoe, the toe member including a cone and the back part member having its forward end secured to the cone and including an intermediate portion which rests upon the inner sole of a shoe, when the form is inserted therein, whereby the back part member in engagement with the heel counter tends to elevate the cone of the toe member.

2. A shoe form comprising a hollow walled resilient toe member and a resilient back part memher, the toe member having flanges at the bottom of the walls and including a cone and the back part member having its forward end secured to the cone above the wall flanges and including an intermediate portion which rests upon the inner sole of a shoe, the rearward end of the back part member engaging the heel counter of a shoe, when the form is inserted therein, thereby the back part member tends to elevate the cone of the toe member.

3. A shoe form comprising a hollow walled toe member and a resilient back part member, the toe member including a cone and the back part member being secured to the top center of the cone at its forward end and extending forwardly, downwardly and rearwardly, to a loop whereby when the form is inserted in a shoe the back part member through its loop bears against the heel counter thereof and through its forward end yieldably tends to elevate the cone of the toe member, an intermediate portion of the back part member resting upon the inner sole of the shoe to carry out the cone elevating tendency of the back part member.

4. A shoe form comprising a hollow walled toe member and a resilient back part member, the toe member including a cone and the back part member being bent midway its length, the forward ends thereof being secured to the side walls of the cone portion of the toe member and extending forwardly, downwardly and rearwardly to the bend therein whereby, when the form is inserted in a shoe, the back part member through the bend bears against the heel counter thereof and through the forward ends yieldably tends to elevate the cone of the toe member, an intermediate portion of the back part member resting upon the inner sole of the shoe and thereby carrying out the cone elevating tendency of the back part member.

5. A shoe form comprising a hollow walled resilient toe member and a resilient back part member, the toe member having flanges at the bottom of the walls and including a cone and the back part member having its forward end secured to the cone above the wall flanges and bent intermediate its ends whereby, when the form is inserted in a shoe, the back part member engages the heel counter and inner sole of the shoe and tends yieldably to elevate the cone of the toe member.

WILLIAM J. DE WITT. 

